A deprivation-based assessment of energy poverty : conceptual problems and application to Germany

In this paper, subjective and objective aspects of deprivation are used to derive an aggregated multidimensional measure of energy poverty. The proposed measure is based on deprivation with a direct relation to energy consumption, but it also accounts for excessive financial restrictions due to energy costs, it gives priority to low income households, and controls for economic energy use. Based on logistic regression, we find strong effects of income and energy expenditure on the likelihood of energy deprivation in Germany, but these variables only partially constitute energy poverty. Other aspects, e.g. employment status or housing conditions, play an important role as well.